• Habib (unregistered) in reply to Ian

    No, NO! He was YOUNG...and RECKLESS!

  • gob bluth (unregistered)

    wait.. what?

  • (cs) in reply to Xythar
    Xythar:
    Downfall:
    This is actually standard practice in embedded systems, when there's no file system to record 27b-6s. It's no big deal.

    Why the hell do people keep making these comments on TDWTF articles? It can't be SEO or otherwise googlebombing/spam because there's no link to influence, unless they really want to increase TDWTF's search engine rank for embedded systems or whatever. Which would make no sense.

    Can anyone explain?

    Go back a bit to a story that a lot of people pointed out wasn't a WTF, it was just common practice with embedded systems that had no file system. It has turned in to a rather annoying meme for people who can't think of anything else to say, yet feel compelled to post something

    The comment section on that that thread was pretty much a prime example of what happens when people don't check the already posted comments: a large number of the posts just said the same thing.

  • DesGrieux (unregistered) in reply to hikari
    hikari:
    Xythar:
    Downfall:
    This is actually standard practice in embedded systems, when there's no file system to record 27b-6s. It's no big deal.

    Why the hell do people keep making these comments on TDWTF articles? It can't be SEO or otherwise googlebombing/spam because there's no link to influence, unless they really want to increase TDWTF's search engine rank for embedded systems or whatever. Which would make no sense.

    Can anyone explain?

    Go back a bit to a story that a lot of people pointed out wasn't a WTF, it was just common practice with embedded systems that had no file system. It has turned in to a rather annoying meme for people who can't think of anything else to say, yet feel compelled to post something

    The comment section on that that thread was pretty much a prime example of what happens when people don't check the already posted comments: a large number of the posts just said the same thing.

    It was the "The c-bitmap" story.

  • (cs) in reply to Spork
    Spork:
    It's nice to see that protocol is being followed by mypasttself. Myfutureself will be annoyed, but what has he done for me lately?
    I have met YourFutureSelf. He's a prick too
  • (cs)

    Excellent!

    +1 decent narrative.

  • Shinobu (unregistered)

    So he couldn't submit it locally because it was another organisation's field, so he had to submit it there, let it mungle through the bureaucracy for 50 days where no one even looks at it but just forwards it until eventually he has to approve it himself... and then he rejects it. My my... I feel for him.

  • Shimon (unregistered) in reply to Dirk
    Would you prefer the wooden table?
    You bet I would. Preferably, with the Irish girl lying on it in a seducing fashion.
  • Anonymous (unregistered)

    As you gaze long into the abyss of corporate policy, your PM so gazes into you. True Nietzsche! Well done.

    CAPTCHA: duis, evil twin of Luis who rejected the feature

  • SCB (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    Anonymous:
    CAPTCHA: duis, evil twin of Luis who rejected the feature
    I think you mean the triplets: Huis, Duis and Luis.
  • No (unregistered)

    These articles are getting more and more dull, uninteresting, and hard to read

  • illum in atus (unregistered) in reply to Griphon
    Griphon:
    No, the title was inspired by the song. The movie had nothing to do with the country.

    So, we have a country inspired by a movie named after a song written about a country. The recursion is complete.

    PS. Learn to quote.

  • Anonymously Yours (unregistered) in reply to Griphon
    Griphon:
    Another Brazilian Guy:
    Anon:
    Another Brazilian Guy:
    Jason:
    This is taken from Brazil. Sometimes I feel my workplace is a little like this...
    Funny that I was thinking exactly the same (even the name "Luis" is spelled the same in portuguese.)

    I used to work for the state government in Brazil and it was mostly the same as the related on this story.

    Thankfully I left that hellhole a couple of years ago!

    The film Brazil, not the Country
    Clearly, the film was inspired in the country!!!
    No, the title was inspired by the song. The movie had nothing to do with the country.
    The song was about the country, thus completing the bureaucracy pyramid of inspiration.

  • (cs)

    Haha... One of the best stories posted here in a while

  • sirlewk (unregistered) in reply to hikari
    hikari:
    Xythar:
    Downfall:
    This is actually standard practice in embedded systems, when there's no file system to record 27b-6s. It's no big deal.

    Why the hell do people keep making these comments on TDWTF articles? It can't be SEO or otherwise googlebombing/spam because there's no link to influence, unless they really want to increase TDWTF's search engine rank for embedded systems or whatever. Which would make no sense.

    Can anyone explain?

    Go back a bit to a story that a lot of people pointed out wasn't a WTF, it was just common practice with embedded systems that had no file system. It has turned in to a rather annoying meme for people who can't think of anything else to say, yet feel compelled to post something

    The comment section on that that thread was pretty much a prime example of what happens when people don't check the already posted comments: a large number of the posts just said the same thing.

    Reusing comments like this is actually perfectly logical on embedded systems where there often is not a filesystem to store new fresh comments.

  • Ah, Germans (unregistered)

    Gotta love our beaurocracy. ^^

  • Anonymous (unregistered) in reply to Ah, Germans
    Ah:
    Gotta love our beaurocracy. ^^
    Beaurocracy: the art of dealing with your significant other.
  • dailyWTH (unregistered)

    I don't get it, when theres a ticket tracking system why didn't he check there in the first place? WTF?

  • h.tuttle (unregistered)

    braaaaziiiiiiiil,,, (hint: gilliam). definitely. i only hope it's fiction.

  • EngleBart (unregistered) in reply to ais523
    ais523:
    I hope the bit about encoding dates in hex is real and not just made up for flavour or anonymisation; that's a whole new level of WTF right there.
    We stored dates like that at one place (early 90s) to fit them into a 32 bit database integer field. 16 bits for year, 8 bits for month, 8 bits for day of month. Of course you only saw it as hex in the debugger. It was Y2K proof as well.

    If only we had thought to print and have the users enter them in hex, it would have saved us having to use the toDisplay() and toDatabase() functions. Dang it!

  • misieck (unregistered) in reply to Nibh
    Nibh:
    Information Transit got the wrong man. I got the right man. The wrong one was delivered to me as the right man, I accepted him on good faith as the right man. Was I wrong?
    If you knew who is the right man and you got delivered some other man, than you should have doubted they gave you the right man. So it seems you were wrong.
  • jjharry (unregistered)

    right... so he rejected it himself?

  • My name... what was it again? (unregistered) in reply to AndrewB
    AndrewB:
    Sooo... The protagonist is forgetful? That's the punch line? Oh I get it. He works under such a complicated bureaucracy that his head is constantly spinning and he couldn't possibly be expected to remember what he did three months ago.
    So what? I constantly forget what I was asked to do two weeks ago, let alone what I already have done and therefore have no more need to remember...
  • (cs) in reply to moz
    moz:
    SR:
    Is Luis K a relative of Josef K?
    I hope not. Signing your own death warrant would be a bit embarrassing.
    Yeah, but having the chance to reject it would be pretty great.
  • (cs) in reply to jimicus
    jimicus:
    He must be working in the Hausdorff that Sends You Mad.

    Why not try the new circular B-39?

    Nah, you want permit A-39 as stipulated in circular B-65.

    Isn't the circular B-65 that bypass on the A39 just outside Glastonbury?

  • TheLoneHecklerFromTheBalcony (unregistered) in reply to henke37
    Something tells me that this will not be dealt with face-to-face.
    Indeed. More likely with a facepalm.
  • (cs) in reply to Jugis
    Jugis:
    So he can request and approve any new feature he wants? "Maybe I needing later..."
    No, no, don't be silly. He can request and deny any feature he needs. Getting anything approved is far harder.
    dailyWTH:
    I don't get it, when theres a ticket tracking system why didn't he check there in the first place?
    Because that was his company's internal ticket-tracking system, and it had been sent out to other companies (many other companies) to resolve. As the article said:
    The internal trouble-ticket system just showed "handled externally".
    Once he'd traced the external chain as far as Banach he used their tracking code to find the older ticket.
  • Troy (unregistered)

    After working for small (read: agile) businesses for 6 years now, even reading about this kind of bureaucracy makes me suicidal.

  • Hoak (unregistered) in reply to Ian
    Ian:
    Obviously he only stamped it 4 times. He should be demoted.

    Yeah... company standards indcate that at least 8 stamps are mandatory.

  • Xythar (unregistered) in reply to hikari
    hikari:
    Xythar:
    Downfall:
    This is actually standard practice in embedded systems, when there's no file system to record 27b-6s. It's no big deal.

    Why the hell do people keep making these comments on TDWTF articles? It can't be SEO or otherwise googlebombing/spam because there's no link to influence, unless they really want to increase TDWTF's search engine rank for embedded systems or whatever. Which would make no sense.

    Can anyone explain?

    Go back a bit to a story that a lot of people pointed out wasn't a WTF, it was just common practice with embedded systems that had no file system. It has turned in to a rather annoying meme for people who can't think of anything else to say, yet feel compelled to post something

    The comment section on that that thread was pretty much a prime example of what happens when people don't check the already posted comments: a large number of the posts just said the same thing.

    Huh, really. That's gotta be the spammiest-looking meme I've ever seen.

  • j. lint (unregistered) in reply to h.tuttle
    h.tuttle:
    braaaaziiiiiiiil,,, (hint: gilliam). definitely. i only hope it's fiction.

    Either you are a troll, which makes you an asshole, or you didn't read any preceding comments, which... also makes you an asshole. I wish you were sitting in my chair..

  • (cs)

    Even though Lorne did a great job embellishing the original (such as adding the 27b-6 form, and several other things), the basics of the story are true indeed. The guy who rejected his own request was not me, though, so I cannot really know what was going through his mind at the time.

    Some commenters complained because the story is difficult to follow. The myriad of companies, consortiums, organisations and subcontractors is basically real, too. I think Lorne managed to convey that absurdity very well.

    I sent the story to Scott Adams a few years ago too, so it is quite possible that the Dilbert strip mentioned in the comments was also based on it.

  • (cs) in reply to dkAllen
    dkAllen:
    This reminds me of the story my boss used to tell me about his time with an engineering firm (a conglomerate, really) with a name which rhymes with "Rectal" - seems they filed suit against some company or other in South America for right-of-way. Half-way through the trail, the "Rectal" Engineering discovered they owned (through a torturous maze of subsidiaries) the smaller company which they were suing.

    End of lawsuit.

    It takes a lot of bureaucracy to sue yourself. And for some reason, we're back in SA again, probably in Brazil.

    Something of the sort also happened once at Grace Brothers...

  • xplayerhaterx (unregistered) in reply to dailyWTH
    dailyWTH:
    I don't get it, when theres a ticket tracking system why didn't he check there in the first place? WTF?

    That's what I thought!!

  • Mr Buttle (unregistered) in reply to h.tuttle
    h.tuttle:
    braaaaziiiiiiiil,,, (hint: gilliam). definitely. i only hope it's fiction.

    Braaaaziiiiiiiil, where hearts were entertaining June We stood beneath an amber moon And softly murmured "someday soon" ...

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